Ash and coal, the journey of Dawn
by Rifts Lavender
Summary: Equestria has abandoned the ways of old and are now quickly forwarding their ventures. This is a new age of smoke and ash as companies quickly push technology forward. The new businesses have allowed large money grabbers to seize power in the nobility, threatening Celestia and Luna's rule. A war with the griffins is approaching as well as something lurking in the shadows


Equestria has abandoned the ways of old and is now quickly forwarding their ventures now is a new age of smoke and ash as technology is quickly pushed forward by companies. The new business have allowed large money grabbers to seize power among the nobles, threatening celestia and luna's rule but also causing many issue like the shell split night, where one of the biggest companies The Flam Brother Corps split into two: The Flam Brother Merchilaine Company and Flim's Steamy Machinery. A massive fight between the two brothers split the companies. Flam going on working in the new expanded Canterlot and Flim moving to Appleloosa, one of the newest industrial powerhouses. Soon enough, all the other countries followed, the Gryphons, the Minotaurs and the Zebras all built up into the Industrial powerhouses like equestria. Soon disagreements over resources like coal broke out and before long the Gryphons and Equestria were at war and still are but now with the new war machines, the war has become more costly and bloody than ever before. The two sisters fear an attack from the minotaurs but have been reassured by the Zebras that they will assist the are high and the flames of war are merely awaiting an igniting spark 

A large airship glides through the air as the morning sun sets the sky ablaze with vivid shades of orange and red. The ship is a leviathan of steel and iron, its metal skin scratched and burned from the few battles it's seen. the weapons on it are deadly and in bulk, cannons, flak guns, you name it this baby's got it, some ponies call it a flying fortress. This ship is The One of the largest ships in the Equestrian Air Force and home to The Wonderbolt Corps the most legendary flyers in the force.The clicking of hooves meeting metal echoes out through an empty hallway as Aurora, or Dawn to her friends, walks from the engine room. A button up jacket covers her light caramel brown fur as her horn rises from a hole in her cap. Patches of her fur are tinged black with the burn marks she received during her long time of service. The light from the wall lamps reflect off her back left leg metallic leg as she walks past them, it always draws attention and she hates when someone brings up. It's a prosthetic made by master artisans using the latest technology of this metal age. She lost her real leg in an explosion, it was a long time ago but she still remembers everything in detail, the smell of her searing flesh stinging her nose, her own agonizing screams ringing in her ears, the smoke that filled her burning lungs, the pulse of her pounding heart as her panic rose and the pain. Every day she remembers the soul tearing pain of the scorching flames and the razor sharp shrapnel that took her leg and nearly took her life.

"Umm...is this seat taken ?".

Dawn looks up, her eyes meeting by a smallish unicorn...she's seen her around before but she was a commander. What's she doing sitting here? " Umm n...no." Dawn replied

The unicorn smiles and sits down, she eats a bit and she looks up at dawn. "So how are you gal?"

Dawn is a bit confused at the small talk. " Umm..f..fine I guess."

The commander smiles and chuckles. She is dressed in the typical Luna guard Armour with a sword on her side and a gun at her waist. "You sure say 'Umm' a lot don't you?"

Dawn sighs, sits up straight and decides to talk her mind " I am just confused why you ain't sitting with the other commanders." She moves her food a bit before standing up and grabbing her hat putting it on. "I am going to lie down".

"O...Oh...well I'll see you around I guess." says the unicorn as she shyly stands and waves, while dawn walks off towards her room.

Dawn could've sworn she heard some commanders saying things like "Rejected" and teasing stuff like that. However, she doesn't have time for flirting or anything like that really, she's been way too busy. She pushes open the door into the room that she shares and looks up at the pony on one of the bunks.

On the bunk sits a large Pegasus, his body more fitting or an earth pony but not too bulky and still normal for his weight class. His face is hard and hides his caring nature well. His deep black mane hangs just past his ears and brings to mind the clear dark sky of a cool winter's night. His grey coat is the color of steel and looks just as strong. His navy blue eyes are as deep as the ocean and you would swear they could see right into your mind.

"Heya, Star." She says as she shyly smiles and sits down on her bed. She opens her bag and takes out her little revolver, it's dented a bit after she dropped it in the engine room.

"Ha, heya Dawn." He smiles and sits up, his hind legs hanging off the bed as he watches her work on her revolver. "Anything been going on with you?"

"Hmm"….She blushes... "I think i was flirted with earlier...Oh and i got yet another offer to work with Flim...and yet another with Flam...they both want me to work with them." She sighs,raises her revolver,opens the case and fixes a few things. " Alllll done." She smiles happily.

"Hmm...I don't like guns." says Star "I am more of a Blunt object person." He chuckles.

Dawn laughs "Haha...yeah you taught that to Brazz that time he grabbed my ass." The two laugh remembering Brazz in the medical center afterwards. "Haha….I am going down for a nap." She takes off her jacket, her cap and lays them down on the foot of her bed before she lies down and gets comfy.

"Alright." Star says before he lies back and hums

Later on about midday, Dawn is woken up by her mate Skylark. His light grey body stood like a statue made of solid iron. His short mane and tail snowy white and kinda flowy. Sky couldn't talk it had something to do with the large scar on his neck but he would never say what happened. At first glance his colossal size makes him look intimidating but when you look closer you see the smile he always wears and the gentle look in his golden eyes.

"Hmm..?' Dawn says as she sits up, wiping the sleep from her eyes."What is it ?" she looks at the large Pegasus confused. Sky points his hooves out her little window to one of the visible flak guns barrels looming over the ship's edge. " Hmm...What about them?" Dawn says as she cocks her head. Skylark thinks for a second then smiles and grabs two gears. He puts them together trying to turn them but them but makes them lock up.

"Ah the gears are busted." says Dawn "Rghh yeah I'll come fix them. Now please put them down bef-." A loud crunching noise interrupts her as the two of the solid metal gears bend in two. Dawn sighs "That happens." Sky lowers his brow and looks down at the ground with a slight blush as he slowly places the bent gears on the floor. He looks up at Dawn then bows in apology for his actions and for her that was enough.

" Ah, it's alright Sky." says Dawn "but you got to come help me with this thing. I need somepony for the heavy lifting." He smiles a happy smile that turns into a grin. She picks up her tools using her magic to stick them onto her back and walks out with him. Sky looms over her, casting a large shadow. " So sky..how are things ?" He cocks his head and sways his hoof side to side to show kinda half and half.

Soon the two get on deck and it's busy as usual with ponies cleaning it down, fixing up dents and scratches, or even running laps around it. Dawn looks around "Hmm...which gun was it again?" Sky walks over to the huge flak gun.

Dawn stands back admiring it. "Ah, this old puppy...what did Commander Stripes call it again?" She uses her magic to grab the control panel of the flak gun and push it open with a massive clash when it hits the metal. "Ah that's right. Celestia's Fire and the other one is Luna's Rage"

Sky nods and grabs onto the metal hatch and flings it open letting a cloud of smoke roll out.

"Hmm… the gears are ground down and the loader is busted...this might take a while." Dawn says then turns to Skylark "Want to stay Sky? I have a few questions to ask about that little Zebra gal you were with when I saw you earlier today" She grins. Sky blushes crimson and looks away making Dawn giggle before she gets to work. She spends a few hours working on the loader, she's about halfway through when she sees the zebra girl run up to Sky

Dawn has to hold back a laugh when she sees the two standing side by is practically a giant ...and this girl...Venom she thinks her name was is quite small, not too much larger than a filly

"Heya sky." Venom smiles. Sky smiles back then nods his head towards the flak gun."Oh, you're busy." Says Venom "Ha...yeah but listen...about that move you have been teaching me. Maybe you could come by my room to train and I could whip us up some poison joke cookies?" She giggles. "You said...well umm...wrote you wanted to try them." He smiles and nods. "Sweet! I mean umm...cool...come to my room later." She blushes and runs off happily.

"Well… sounds like someone has a date, huh?" Dawn says with a smile as she is hoof deep in the machinery. She's not looking at him but she can just tell that Skylark has a massive blush. "Hmm and I am done! Thanks for the help Sky. Oh and good luck with your date." She laughs as she uses her magic to close the hatch then stretches. "I might go check on some of the planes...Hmm or maybe go check on the engines…See you Sky." She waves him goodbye and walks off heading towards the engine room.

As Dawn walks below, she hears a familiar male voice talking quietly "Yeah I know calm down. Just place it on the pipe and set the timer to a hour or such." She takes cover on the wall next to the door and uses her magic to draw her revolver then waits to listen more.

Sign Shock...the Gunner" Dawn whispers under her breath… "I've seen him around some of the other guys but never talked to him." She growls lightly and uses her magic to throw the door in and rushes forward with her revolver drawn. She sees a griffon dressed in spec-ops gear with a rifle in his claws and Sign Shock kneeling next to him, planting bombs on the main steam shouts "Stop righ-!"

The Griffon quickly aims and fires his round hits the wall right next to Dawn's head as she jumps behind some pipes and raises her revolver over them, taking a few shots, making the griffon and Sign take cover where they can.

Sign yells with clear panic in his voice "I-If she hits one of these bombs were toast!".

"You mean if she hits a bomb...your toast." The griffon says before he throws a weird vial that sends out a blinding light when it smashes on the ground. When the light clears the Griffon is gone. Dawn quickly stands out and shoots Sign in two of his knee caps.

"Argh!" Sign screams out in pain as he falls over. Dawn rushes over and tries to defuse the bombs. She gets nearly all of them off but when she doesn't have enough time to get the last three off, she panics, grabs them with magic and flings them out a window. Shattered glass and bombs fly out towards the back of the ship. The bombs get just far enough away before they explode with enough force to send a shockwave through the ship's hull.

Dawn gets her balance back from the quake "Welp...I really hope there wasn't any birds back there."

Two armed guards suddenly burst in and see her and sign, "What happened !?" One yells as he aims at Dawn while the other aims at Sign

"Simple really." Says Dawn "Our friend Sign here was with a griffon fellow in some fancy gear and Sing here was planting some bombs on these pipes." She growls at Sign and his expression turns to pure terror as if he's looking into the very face of the devil.

A guard looks around "Wait...where's the Gryphon?!".

"He ran after i showed up." says Dawn "He threw some weird liquid that made a massive flash...couldn't have seen Skylark even if he was right in front of me."

The guards cringes. "hmm...but for now..." He walk over to Sign.

One of the guards stands on one of Sign's shot, knees making him scream out in pain "Arghhhhhhhhh!"

The guard grins slightly. "We will go ask this guy a few questions."

Dawn nods and smiles as she walks out with the explosives and hands it to a guard for evidence. Her mind races as she walks away. "W...what would've happened if I didn't stop them? What would've happened if they killed me?" She holds her head "Arghh fuck…note to self...visit the good old under bed locker of liquid courage tonight."

Dawn went off back to her bunk and starts to get her mind off things after some liquid help. She tries to sleep but her mind still races as she lays down, still thinking thousands of things at once until one thought really catches her attention. "The last time there was a bomb attack on a ship was on the Appleloosa...and like a days or two after that…..t-the griffons attacked it…" She jumps up in an instant and runs down the hall as fast as she can.

"COMMANDER!" Dawn screams as she bursts into her commander's room making him jump and throw the knife he was using to cut his food next to her head.

"Damn it dawn!" Yelled the commander …I almost made a bullseye out of you!". Hmm good old commander Union...or so he likes to be called...imagine the most british commander you can...and make him around 50...that's Union…"What has got you so panicky, Dawn?"

"Commander...we have...a..issue." Dawn says as she stands straight and salutes. " You were informed on the bomb plot by Sign?"

"Why yes I was." Union says between bites. " Shame really...he had a lot of chance around here of a promotion."

"W...well do you remember the last time the griffons tried to bomb a ship?"

"Hmm yes the Northern Applelo-." The ship suddenly shakes violently with the sound of cannons making Dawn fall onto her side.

Union grabs the intercom "We're under attack! I repeat We're under attack! This is not a drill! This is not a drill!" He quickly turns to Dawn "Dawn we need you on deck !" She stands, nods then runs off onto deck. She rushes out and sees the deck filled with flames and ponies running in all directions, some putting out the fires, others arming and loading the guns. Across the sea of grass below, three ships of the Griffon empire rise from under the clouds. Slick white with polished black hulls that reflect the hellish flames from their cannons fire. The volley strikes the Epona, making the ship shake and tilt as they connect.

Dawn dashes forward, through the flames and havok, heading straight towards the flak gun as two panicky rookies try and arm it."Fuck it wont work!" One yells as his shaky hooves try to pull the trigger "T-the gun won't fi-." He is cut off as he's lifted up and tossed out of the seat by Dawn's magic. She jumps in the seat, grabs the controls the and aims at the largest ship. Her eyes open wide as she grins, her teeth give an evil shimmer as she aims towards the ammo dumps.

She screams out "FIRE !" As she pulls all the switches and fires the guns. The shear force of the wave of smoke blows her cap clean off her head and flames from the cannons shine in her eyes as every barrel fires towards the main ship. Every volley hits one after another and soon all you can see through the smoke is a large ball of fire and a huge explosion. The shock wave from the explosion rocks the Epona. The massive force flows through Dawn's body, making her coat tremble and blowing back her mane. She seems like something out of a movie as she stares down the burning wreck of the griffon ship. It splits in half and plummets towards the earth, crashing into the ground, black smoke emitting from it like an erupting volcano.

The smaller ship flies past the front. A bunch of griffons leap off of it and fly onto the SS. Epona and charge, some of the crew fire at them while others charge to meet them. Dawn draws her blade and gun using her magic then charges. She sees a pony and griffin deadlocked sword to sword. She slides underneath the blades and shoots the griffon in the head. She rolls and stands back up. In an instant she is half circled by seven griffons.

"F-fuck...only 5 shots" Dawn mutters as she stares them griffons grin until one of there own comes flying in and tumbles to the ground, bloody and griffons see him then look around in a panic. A large shadow covers the group before a metal hook catches one right through his neck. He's snatched helplessly into the air, spun then crushed back to the ground by a large hoof. A giant grey pegasus stands, with his metal encased hoof on the griffon's chest.

Skylark stands strong. Dull metal armor covers both his front legs up to his shoulders. Sharp barbed hooks reach out from his armored legs, like the claws of an ancient beast. His hooves are encased in a thick layer of solid steel, made for crushing his foes. Venom quickly hops up on Sky's back then leaps off throwing a spear into one of the griffon's chest pinning him to the dack. She lands on his chest, driving the tip of another spear into him before leaping off in a flash. She dives straight towards a griffon. He swipes at her with a sword. Venom rolls under the blade and slashes his chest with her spear. The griffon stumbles back in pain. He draws a pistol and aims, but Venom is already gone. He looks around in a panic until he hears a yell from above him. He looks up just in time to see Venom diving down, spear first.

Venom draws her spear from the griffon's body. She feels a shock that sends her to the deck. A griffon holds her by the neck as he raises his dagger. A sudden fear fills Venom's eyes but it vanishes as fast as it comes, replaced by a grin. Her grin strikes the griffon, making him pause just as a large shadow comes from behind him. Skylarks massive hoof slams into the griffon's side, sending him sailing across the deck and tumbling to a stop. The griffon slowly stands, draws his sword and rushes Skylark with a battle roar. Skylark takes two steps then stops in his tracks and simply smiles. The griffon takes flight and dives straight towards Skylark then suddenly falls from the sky and lifelessly crashes to the deck just inches away from Sky. Venom walks up to Skylark with a chuckle "Poison pin." She says as she reaches down and pulls a pin out of the griffon's neck. The pin still drips with a green liquid "Works every time."

Dawn and a griffon stare each other down, both steely eyed, poised like cobras ready to strike. The griffon moves first, dashing in, bringing his sword down on Dawn. She steps to the side just in time, the blade slicing through her mane. Her hooves slide across the deck as she turns, raising her revolver and taking a shot. The griffon ducks under the revolver and slices upwards with his blade, knocking her revolver out of the air and sending it sailing across the deck. He brings his sword down again. The blade meets the steel of Dawn's sword. She quickly spins under his blade and sweeps with her hind leg. Her leg strikes his front claw and knocks him onto his side. Dawn brings her sword stabbing down but it only pierces the deck as the griffon rolls out of the way. Dawn tries to pull her blade free but it's stuck fast. The griffon lunges off the deck, slamming into Dawn with the full force of his body, sending her tumbling. He's above her in an instant, slicing his blade down for a final strike. The ring of metal and the flash of sparks fill the air as Dawn raises her metal leg to meet the griffon's blade. She kicks his blade away, plants her hooves on the deck and spins into the air. She barrel rolls and brings her metal leg down on the griffon's head with a deafening crack. She lands and sweeps, knocking him off his claws. She spins as fast as lightning and kicks his chest with the force of thunder before he falls. The griffon and his blade fly backwards into the air. Dawn rushes forward. Her horn glows bright blue. An aura surrounds the griffon's sword. The griffon's body crashes to the deck. His own blade rising from his chest.

Dawn hangs her head low, trying to catch her breath. A claw grabs her from behind and her own gun presses into the side of her head "Get back or I'll blow her brains out!" the last griffon yells as he grinds the barrel into her skull. A shape forms behind the griffon. It flickers and distorts, showing many hues until it turns dark and reveals the shadowy figure of a pony dressed in a cowl, his body fully covered in dark wispy cloth. A flash of metal comes from beneath the cloak and a blade stabs through the griffon's head making him drop down to the deck.

Dawn hold her neck panting "D...damn it Dagger...you almost stabbed me!" She stands and looks out at the griffon's ship as six wonderbolts fly over it dropping bombs that take out the engines, making it slowly fall out of the sky. The last of the griffons are dead or fleeing. The crew cheer loudly and start to throw the griffon's bodies off the Epona. Skylark walks up to Dawn with a smile. He reaches out and gives Dawn her cap. Dawn takes it and puts it on. "Thanks Sky." She runs her hoof across the rim of her cap and smiles.

Later that night all of the crew after having a ceremony to honor the soldiers lost in the attack. Moral is back up and everyone seems cheery. Dawn is walking back to her room, she sees Sky and Venom kissing before Venom bring Sky into her room. Dawn blushes pure crimson as she walks past the room and around the corner towards her room. She bumps into someone and falls back but is caught by a hoof. She looks up to see Doctor Frostburn, one of the few she knew. He was quite an exciting little guy but a nice friend. He grabs her with his magic before she and spins her a bit till she's standing.

"Hey." He chuckles and blushes lightly.

"Um..h..hi.." Dawn stammers shyly as she looks away and uses her magic to move her cap down to hide her face.

He smiles and chuckles "Hehe...why you blushing? I ain't making a stupid face...wait...that's normal." He chuckles again and she giggles lightly.

"N-No...you just surprised me is all…umm..I...I gotta go." Dawn says before she quickly walks off. Frost shyly looks over at her flank and chuckles before he walks off humming.

Dawn heads back into her room and jumps on her bed. "Ahh about fucking time!...I am fucking wrecked...and boss wants me to go to Canterlot tomorrow for that meeting...Ahh." She lies back "Hmmm...maybe i could visit home...n-no...but...umm...maybe?" She sighs and turns over. She lies down and soon she's fast asleep.


End file.
